Crime Prevention

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The Prescott Police Department’s mission is to enhance the quality of life in the City of Prescott by working cooperatively with the public to prevent crime, enforce the law, preserve the peace, and provide a safe environment through professional education programs aimed at promoting community involvement in crime prevention.

The Department wants you to be safe and comfortable in your home and during your daily activities, whether leisure or work. And although the department works very hard to create the safest environment possible, it is very important to remember that all citizens play a vital part in crime prevention. Crime prevention is truly a Police-Community partnership. By working together, we can reduce crime and enhance the quality of life.

Crime Prevention is the anticipation, recognition, and appraisal of a crime risk and the initiation of some action to remove or reduce it.

To learn more about Crime Prevention programs, click on the links below:

Crime Prevention Events

National Night Out

National Night Out is a nationally recognized program that occurs annually on the first Tuesday in August. This program encourages neighborhoods to participate in crime prevention programs in their area. Studies show that when neighborhoods have a strong sense of community and participate in crime prevention programs, they are less likely to become victims of crimes. The City of Prescott Police Department recommends Block Watch groups host their annual meetings on National Night Out.

If you would like officers, fire fighters, and city officials to visit your meeting on Night Out, contact us at (928) 777-1967. Use the Application for National Night Out to coordinate your neighborhood's effort with the Police Department.

Block Watch

Why Block Watch?

Reducing the risk of being a victim of crime

Recognizing and reporting suspicious activity

Identifying issues that may impact your neighborhood

Getting to know your neighbors better

Partnering with our police department to prevent crime

The Block Watch program, also known as Neighborhood Watch, is a program that encourages neighbors watch out for one another. This program promotes an active participation by residents, in partnership with the police, to reduce and improve the quality of life in your neighborhood. Block Watch works best when neighbors work together to identify, deter, and report crimes. We encourage you to be a good witness and refrain from actually intervening in in-progress criminal activity. If you are interested in organizing a Block Watch group in your area, download the Block/Neighborhood Watch Application, and contact us in Crime Prevention at (928)777-1967.

Initially, a member of the Prescott Police Department’s Crime Prevention Section will attend your first meeting. Our Crime Prevention Specialist will explain how the program works, along with your responsibility as neighbors. Crime prevention literature and window signs are provided to all residents who attend.

At the end of the first meeting, the group will elect a Block Watch Captain or Leader who will be the liaison between neighbors and the police department. The Captain’s responsibilities include:

Arranging for an annual meeting,

Maintaining a list of all members,

Establishing and distributing a phone tree,

Inviting new neighbors into the program,

Sharing information sent out by the police department.

After the initial meeting, we will arrange for a city department to erect a Block Watch sign at the entrance and exit to your area. The signs will remain posted as long as your group fulfills the annual meeting requirement; therefore, remaining an active status.

Business Watch

Similar to the Neighborhood Watch Program, but geared toward businesses.

The services we will be offering for our community business watch program are:

Crime Alerts, via email

Security Surveys

Robbery Prevention Education

Loss Prevention, including Shoplifting, and Employee Theft Prevention

Identity Theft,

Check and Credit Card Frauds

Personal Safety

Fire Safety

Code Enforcement Assistance

Objectives of the Business Watch Program:

To encourage businesses to watch out for one another

To educate local businesses in various crime prevention topics

To establish positive communications between businesses and the Prescott Police Department

Community Crime Watch

Community Crime Watch is the opportunity for all of us to become involved in making our community safer by recognizing and reporting crime.

Community Crime Watch is the process of recognizing, observing, and reporting situations appearing to be suspicious. The people reporting suspicious situation are workers, like you who are out in the community on a daily basis providing an extra set of eyes and ears for us.

Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED)

"CPTED is the proper design and effective use of the built environment which may lead to a reduction in the fear and incidence of crime, and an improvement of the quality of life." - National Crime Prevention Institute

We live with crime every day. It has become, unfortunately, a fact of life. Discussions on the subject have traditionally focused much less on crime prevention than on arrest and punishment; a measure that cannot be taken until after a crime has been committed. Only in the last 20 years have designers and architects begun to see the need to plan and build with more in mind than just the traditional threats of nature: fire, earthquakes and hurricanes. They must now consider the threat of crime.

Enter a new approach to crime prevention - Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design - or CPTED. Much more far-reaching than dead bolts on doors and locks on windows, CPTED crime prevention principles can be applied easily and inexpensively to building or remodeling, and have been implemented in communities across the nation. The results have been impressive; in some CPTED communities, criminal activity has decreased by as much as 40 percent. What is the secret to CPTED crime prevention? Design that eliminates or reduces criminal behavior and at the same time encourages people to "keep an eye out" for each other. These are just a few of the ingredients that go into creating an effective CPTED crime prevention environment; that is, a safer more livable community.

The Four Strategies of CPTED

Natural surveillance - A design concept directed primarily at keeping intruders easily observable. Promoted by features that maximize visibility of people, parking areas and building entrances: doors and windows that look out on to streets and parking areas; pedestrian-friendly sidewalks and streets; front porches; adequate nighttime lighting. Territorial Reinforcement - Physical design can create or extend a sphere of influence. Users then develop a sense of territorial control while potential offenders, perceiving this control, are discouraged. Promoted by features that define property lines and distinguish private spaces from public spaces using landscape plantings, pavement designs, gateway treatments, and "CPTED" fences. Natural Access control - A design concept directed primarily at decreasing crime opportunity by denying access to crime targets and creating in offenders a perception of risk. Gained by designing streets, sidewalks, building entrances and neighborhood gateways to clearly indicate public routes and discouraging access to private areas with structural elements. See this flyer for some examples. Target Hardening - Accomplished by features that prohibit entry or access: window locks, dead bolts for doors, interior door hinges.

Presented along with each of these CPTED strategies are guidelines, which, as a homeowner, builder or remodeler, you can apply to reduce the fear and incidence of crime and improve the quality of life.

Automobile VIN Etching

VIN etching is a process of permanently etching the vehicle identification number on each piece of window glass on the vehicle and serves as a permanent fingerprint of your vehicle. VIN etching is a visual deterrent against auto theft and takes 5-7 minutes per vehicle. The vehicle owner needs to show proof of registration and will be required to complete a consent form. This service is offered approximately 4 times per year throughout the City of Prescott, Prescott Valley and Yavapai County. Dates of VIN etching are posted on the Events Calendar on this web site.

Crime Free Multi Housing

The Crime Free Multi-Housing Program was designed to help residents, owners, and the managers of rental property keep drugs and other illegal activity off their property.

This program is honest and direct. It is solution oriented. It is designed to be easy, yet very effective in reducing the incident of crime in rental properties.

The program utilizes a unique three-part approach, which ensures the crime prevention goal, while maintaining a very resident friendly approach.

Phase One involves a free eight-hour seminar presented by the police department. Phase Two will certify that the rental property has met minimum-security requirements for the residents' safety. In Phase Three, a resident crime prevention meeting will be conducted for full certification, and the managers will be granted the use of large metal logo signs for the property. The management will also be granted the use of the program logo in all advertisements.

Why Crime Free?

When criminals and other destructive residents operate out of rental property, neighborhoods suffer and landlords pay a high price. That Price may include:

Decline in property values--particularly when the activity begins affecting the reputation of the neighborhood.